The goal of this application is to seek funding for travel awards for students/fellows and young independent investigators (Rising Stars) for the 2013 Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) Conference. CMBE was recently created as a special interest group (SIG) within the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and represents a merger of the Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine (SPRBM) with BMES. This will be the first time that this conference is held as the primary meeting for the CMBE SIG, and BMES will provide enhanced exposure and membership. The specific theme of 2013 joint conference will be 'Gradient, Interfacial and Spatiotemporal Control of Cells and Tissues'. Within this central theme, a broad spectrum of isolated groups have converged from disparate disciplines, but without any sense of community. The need for this conference lies in the unique opportunity to bring these investigators together in one room for the first time to exchange ideas and brainstorm new spatiotemporal strategies for moving the field of regenerative medicine forward. The specific objectives of this R13 application are two-fold. The first is to provide support to junior investigators, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students whose submitted papers have been selected for podium presentation on the basis of scientific merit, and promote individuals from underrepresented groups and women scientists in the field. The meeting will thus provide a platform for the development of long-term interdisciplinary interactions, and expose researchers in bioengineering, biology and medicine to the latest ideas and opportunities at the confluence of CMBE. The second objective of this R13 application is to foster the emergence and growth of the burgeoning sub-field of CMBE. The specific aims of this CMBE Conference are: Aim #1: Establish the current status of gradients, interfaces and spatiotemporal control of cells and tissues in regenerative medicine. Invited leaders who address this overarching theme from molecular biology to organismal biology and bioengineering approaches will give an overview of their work, with an overall emphasis in molecular/cellular/tissue functions and tissue/organ regeneration. Aim #2: Brainstorm gaps in knowledge and problem areas in CMBE research with a focus on the role of cellular/molecular mechanics, motility, functional matrices and tissue regeneration. This will provide keystone future directions regarding the field of CMBE and guidelines and blueprints for the CMBE field to our organizations, and in general, broad CMBE communities. The outcomes of the conference will be published in a special issue of the journal of Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering.